Global transport processes via sea routes are a complex puzzle: different carriers, changing departure times and routings, limited capacities and long-term contracts. Anyone who ships large quantities internationally by container knows the challenges.
At LANXESS, one of the leading specialty chemicals companies, up to 20,000 overseas bookings are made each year by the in-house scheduling team. In order to maintain control, the company made a conscious decision to manage these processes internally.
However, as complexity grew, so did the manual effort. The solution: data-driven Allocation Hub from Logward.
This case study shows how LANXESS brought transparency to its overseas logistics – laying the foundation for efficiency, flexibility, and better decision-making.
Manual Processes, Fragmented Data, and High Pressure
Transport planning is a central part of LANXESS’ global supply chain – especially in the EMEA region, where around 60% of the company’s global production and transport volume is concentrated. Every order requires precise coordination: Which ship sails when? What allocation is available? And how can the volume be optimally distributed across the shipping companies? Individual requirements such as departure and arrival times, volume planning, transit times, routing and customer promises need to be considered.
To respond flexibly to varying destination ports and changing shipping needs, LANXESS does not purchase volume on a fixed port-pair basis but on complete service routes with multiple carriers. This strategy creates more flexibility in load distribution – but also significantly increases operational complexity.
Before implementing Logward, this meant that dispatchers had to manually check:
- Which allocations were available,
- Which ships were sailing when, and
- Where to strategically place the planned volume.
The necessary information was scattered across carrier websites, tender documents, and internal tools – inconsistent and cumbersome to maintain. “The challenge was not the volume per se, but the lack of an overview: Without centralised transparency, a lot of things remained fragmented – and strategic control was pure theory,” describes Florian Ullmann, GF Global Procurement & Logistics & Head of Logistics EMEA at LANXESS. The result: high time expenditure, a lack of real-time transparency and an increased risk of overbooking or unutilised capacity.
From Manual Research to Data-Driven Decisions
To react more flexibly to the market demands, LANXESS decided to bring more clarity and control to its overseas logistics – with the goal of enabling data-supported decisions, reducing operational effort, and relieving the team.
A central component of this initiative is Logward’s Allocation Hub. The solution provides dispatchers with an up-to-date, centralized overview of purchased volumes, allocations, and available capacities. They can immediately see which capacities are available on which service routes with which carriers. Manual research across multiple sources is no longer necessary. “Our dispatchers now have the ability to make decisions in minutes, which used to take a lot of coordination and time – this brings noticeable relief and more decision-making certainty,” says Florian Ullmann.
The newly gained transparency enables more targeted use of purchased volumes and ensures allocation commitments are fully utilized — rather than left unused or triggering last-minute overbookings. Since carriers view allocations as a forecasting basis for capacity planning, consistent utilization positively impacts both the partnership and future negotiations. Greater visibility and planning reliability not only strengthen operational control, but also enhance financial forecasting, which laying the groundwork for optimized carrier terms in upcoming tender rounds.
Thanks to Logward’s No-Code Technology, data sources can be easily connected and allocation and prioritisation rules defined – without the need for expensive IT resources or lengthy integration projects.
Looking Ahead to Further Optimizations
The introduction of Allocation Management was just the beginning. LANXESS and Logward are working together to unlock further potential – for example, by analyzing booking behavior and load distribution to engage in more informed price negotiations with carriers.
Prioritized bookings and an even deeper integration with SAP are also on the agenda: In the future, authorized employees should be able to directly access central transport information within their familiar system environment. “The journey is not over for us – we see many more levers to make data-driven decisions the standard in logistics,” says Florian Ullmann.
More clarity, better decisions, and less operational friction – Allocation Hub at LANXESS shows how modern logistics control works today.
Are you looking to rethink your overseas logistics? Then get in touch with us – we support you in building the right structures and systems.